Download Paige Cheung

Paige Cheung
Grade 11
Lowell High School
Mr. Schmidt
Civil War Causes and Effects
The root causes of the Civil War are sectionalism, industrialization, slavery, states’ rights,
and tariffs. Major political, economic, and cultural differences between the North and South
widened the gap between the two regions. The North was industrially based while the South
depended on King Cotton to bring wealth to plantation owners. However, a high tariff benefited
the North while hurting the South. The South, dependent on slaves in order to maintain the
plantation-based economy, chafed at radical abolitionists’ ideas of full and uncompensated
emancipation.
Socially, the North and the South were extremely different. While the North had an
influx of many European immigrants, very few immigrants moved to the South due to the rigidly
established social structure. The South’s plantation system limited social mobility; plantation
owners were at the top followed by small farmers who owned slaves with subsistence farmers
and slaves at the bottom. Meanwhile, the Northern influx of Irish and German immigrants
caused social changes, such as widespread urbanization. A political party named the KnowNothings rose to oppose immigration; backed by nativist ideals and an opposition to uneducated
immigrants, the Know-Nothings had a strong influence on Northern politics. Despite this
opposition, immigrants were still able to move upward socially, as evidenced by the expansion of
the middle class. This led to the belief America was a land of opportunity and social mobility in
the North, while Southerners believed in maintaining the status quo. The difference in the
attitudes of the two regions led to sectionalism and continued to persist throughout and after the
Civil War, as evidenced by the rise of the Ku Klux Klan in the late 1860s and postReconstruction violence.
Tariffs were a large problem during the 19th century. Due to the lack of an income tax
until the Revenue Act of 1861, the government’s main source of income was the tariff.
However, a high tariff only benefited the industrial North, as a higher tariff meant imported
goods would cost more against goods made in America. Since a higher tariff meant the British
would have to pay higher prices on cotton, cotton sales fell, leaving Southern planters displeased.
The most infamous tariff, also known as the Tariff of Abominations (1828), directly led to the
Nullification Crisis in 1832. This sectional crisis led South Carolina to claim the tariff was
unconstitutional due to the powers invested in the Tenth Amendment, which states powers not
granted to the federal government are given to the states or people. In addition, proponents of
secession such as John Calhoun pushed the compact theory, which claimed the national
government derives its powers from the states; thus, states hold more power than the national
government and may determine laws.
The Nullification Crisis was important in that it showed the conflict of interests between
the North and South. Both the North and the South acted more as financial competitors against
Paige Cheung
Grade 11
Lowell High School
Mr. Schmidt
one another than a country, showing the gap between the two regions. While the South was
undoubtedly hurt by extremely high tariffs, the fact the North and the South were unable to
compromise shows the lack of interest in cooperation between the two regions. This shows
sectionalism was already deep-rooted by the 1930s due to financial needs and the high tariff did
not help the animosity between the two regions. Southerners undoubtedly held a grudge against
Northerners; this grudge would manifest itself in the bloody fighting during the Civil War.
Shortly before the Civil War, the Morrill Tariff had been passed as a protectionist tariff to
double the tax on items entering the United States. Prior to its passage, the tariff had been
eighteen percent; afterwards, it was thirty-seven percent. The Morrill Tariff was extremely
controversial and the vote on it was split by region, as Northerners voted for the bill while
Southerners vehemently opposed it. During the Civil War, with Southern senators out of the
political workings of the government, the Morrill Tariff was raised not once, but twice to benefit
the Northern industry and war effort. The impacts of the high tariff were felt during
Reconstruction when the Southern economy was in ruins and unable to properly rebuild itself.
Slavery was one of the biggest causes of the Civil War. The Missouri Compromise in
1820 had been passed to settle the issue of slavery in new territories. Since neither the North nor
the South, in a show of sectionalism, wanted either region to have more political power,
politicians agreed there would be no slavery above 36°30′ north. This set a precedent in which
states admitted to the Union would either be slave or free to maintain a balance of power.
However, the Missouri Compromise became useless in 1850 when California requested to be
admitted to the Union as a free state.
Due to America’s belief in Manifest Destiny – the idea America should encompass the
continent from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean – America became extremely
expansionist in the 1840s. Texas had declared independence from Mexico in 1836 and was
formally annexed in 1845, which led to the Mexican-American War. James K. Polk, the
president at that time, had campaigned on a promise of "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!” which
showed his commitment to territorial expansion of the United States. The Mexican-American
War gave the United States an area of land which now encompasses California, Texas, Nevada,
Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming for the price of
eighteen million dollars. With this new territorial acquisition, the California Gold Rush soon
arrived.
The influx of people into California who sought gold was so large that within one year,
California had more than enough people to qualify as a state. However, California applied to the
Union as a free state, thereby threatening the balance between free and slave states. This request
led to the Compromise of 1850.
Paige Cheung
Grade 11
Lowell High School
Mr. Schmidt
Hotly contested between the North and the South, the Compromise of 1850 was
hammered out by Henry Clay, the Great Compromiser and supported by Stephen Douglas. John
Calhoun, one of the preeminent senators of the South, was strongly against the Compromise and
argued for states’ rights and that runaway slaves – now a problem due to the presence of the
Underground Railroad – should be returned to their rightful owners in the South; other Southern
fire-eaters agreed. On the other hand, Northern abolitionists pushed for no further slavery. This
split between the Northern and Southern senators shows the extremely large disparity in
viewpoints on slavery between the North and South.
In the end, California was admitted as a free state while the slave trade in the District of
Columbia was banned. However, the Mexican Cession lands received popular sovereignty – the
ability to choose whether a state or territory would be slave or free-soil. In addition, a new
Fugitive Slave Law was passed that rewarded those who sent a slave back to his or her owner
monetarily. By this time, however, Northerners were firmly against catching slaves and passed
Personal Liberty Laws that stated local officials were not obligated to chase after or return
fugitive slaves. Southerners were outraged by this perceived breach of law because it was not
enforced and ignored. Despite this uneasy tension, the Compromise of 1850 helped keep peace
up until the passing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820, granting
the territory popular sovereignty over slavery. It was originally passed so the Pacific Railroad,
which was planning to build a transcontinental railroad, could potentially pass through the North
and thereby help the North financially. However, the South was displeased by this proposal, as
they wanted the business that would come with the railroad and refused to give the North the
railroad without anything in return. Thus, the Kansas-Nebraska Act reignited the debate over
slavery. By this time, abolitionists were more prominent and denounced this act. It also split the
Democrats and the Republican Party was formed from this and was against the expansion of
slavery.
Starting with the Second Great Awakening, the abolitionist movement gained traction.
Reformers became more vocal and supported their arguments against slavery with the Bible –
something newly religious Americans were compelled by. William Lloyd Garrison’s The
Liberator pushed for Northern secession from the South and immediate and uncompensated
emancipation, which became a tenet for radical abolitionists. On the other hand, more practical
abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass lectured frequently on the evils of slavery and looked
towards political reform for freedom.
In 1857, the infamous Dred Scott decision was passed down from the Supreme Court.
Dred Scott had been a slave from Missouri whose owner moved to a free state. Dred Scott
argued that because he lived in a free state, he was entitled to his freedom. However, Chief
Paige Cheung
Grade 11
Lowell High School
Mr. Schmidt
Justice Robert Taney and the rest of the Supreme Court stated that slaves were not citizens – they
were property. In addition, the Court also stated the Missouri Compromise had been
unconstitutional since its implementation and therefore no such thing as free states existed. This
enraged the North and further drew sectional lines between the North and the South, making all
the aforementioned acts and compromises null.
Tensions soon rose across the country and violence became more prevalent. Kansas had
been the backdrop of a series of violent events in which proslavery and anti-slavery forces had
clashed, giving it the nickname of Bleeding Kansas. Furthermore, proslavery advocates had
jumped the border on Election Day to vote for Kansas to become a slave state, thereby rigging
the vote. There were two governments in Kansas; the proslavery government was set up in
Shawnee Mission while the antislavery government established itself in Topeka. Violence soon
escalated, with John Brown murdering and mutilating five supporters of slavery at Pottwatomie
Creek and proslavery supporters burning down Lawrence, Kansas. These acts of violence
showed how important of an issue slavery had become by 1858. Prior to this, slavery had not
been such a contentious issue, as evidenced by the lack of violence.
However, with the rise of sectionalism and the split between North and South, the issue
of slavery became extremely contentious. Charles Sumner, an abolitionist in a Senate, criticized
another senator, Preston Brooks. Brooks took major offense to this and caned Sumner repeatedly
over the head on the floor of Congress, which caused Sumner grievous injuries Sumner never
fully recovered from. While Northerners were shocked by this display of violence, Southerners
applauded Brooks’ actions and sent Brooks more canes in support. This ugly scene only led to
more animosity politically between Northern and Southern senators and gridlock in the Senate.
Meanwhile, John Brown reemerged in Harper’s Ferry, Virginia with a plan to take over
the federal arsenal, arm slaves with weapons from the arsenal, and lead a huge revolt. Brown
was soon captured after taking over a building and hanged. The South viewed this as fair and
just punishment and saw Brown as a symbol of the North; on the other hand, Northerners were
shocked by Brown’s death and saw him as a martyr who died for slavery. The extreme
differences between the two viewpoints highlights how far apart the two regions had become –
there was little to no chance for reconciliation.
During the Civil War, emancipation became the main focus of the war after the Battle of
Antietam Creek. President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation gave the war a moral
foundation. Soldiers would now have a reason to fight – instead of fighting to preserve a vague
notion of a Union that had been divided since the Missouri Compromise,they now had a tangible
goal in sight. However, the Emancipation Proclamation only freed those in Confederate states,
not border states. This was to prevent further secession from the Union. The fact the issue of
slavery now split the two regions proves slavery was an issue so important it could break or
Paige Cheung
Grade 11
Lowell High School
Mr. Schmidt
reform the Union. Thus, slavery was one of the most important factors leading up to and during
the Civil War.
The Civil War was inevitably caused by social, cultural, and geographic differences that
were too deep to reconcile. Sectionalism further widened the gap between the differences and
led to a mutual dislike from both sides of the other. It was only after the nation was forcibly
reunited that America established itself as a strong player on the world stage as seen in the early
twentieth century.
Bibliography
K e n n e d y, D a v i d . T h e A m e r i c a n P a g e a n t : A H i s t o r y o f t h e R e p u b l i c
Advanced Placement Edition . 13th. 2006. 257 - 485. Print.
PBS, ."Bleeding Kansas." PBS.PBS, n.d. Web. 11 Apr 2011.
<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2952.html>.
"Popular
s o v e r e i g n t y. " W e b . < h t t p : / / d i c t i o n a r y. r e f e r e n c e . c o m / b r o w s e / p o p u l a r + s o v e r e
i g n t y> .